Tributes have been paid to a leading Scottish chef following his death from a stroke.

Alan Gibb, the executive chef at Gleneagles, died earlier today in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Leading Edinburgh chef Mark Greenaway tweeted that it was "such sad news."

Mr Greenaway, who runs Mark Greenaway 69 North Castle Street, wrote on the micro-blogging site: "I worked for this great chef in 1996 when he was sous chef at gleneagles. RIP Chef."

Gleneagles flags were flying at half-mast at Mr Gibb's former hotel Balbirnie House Hotel, Markinch. He ran the kitchen at the luxury hotel for four-and-a-half years until May 2003.

In a tweet, accompanied by an image of Mr Gibb, the hotel wrote: "With enormous sadness, we convey the news that former @BalbirnieHouse Executive Chef Alan Gibb died earlier today."

Managing director Nicholas Russell paid tribute to the Aberdeen-born father-of-one who he described as a “culinary visionary”.

He added that he was a "tremendously focussed executive chef and dedicated hands-on cook, driven by evolution within kitchens, and doing all possible to encourage young chefs into the amazing world of hospitality.

He said the married father of one's dishes represented “contemporary Scotland on a plate" adding poignantly: “RIP Chef, onwards to the big kitchen in the sky.”

Mr Gibb's CV included a stint as head chef at the City Inn, Glasgow. He owned the The Restaurant at Cluny Bank, in Forres.

He launched his career in 1984 and worked in Scotland, London and France before landing the top job at the luxury Balbirnie hotel in 1998.